The House Of David

(The House Of David)

Easter is coming at the end of the month. However, before there was Jesus, there had to be King David. David was Jesus' ancestor that would provide a royal bloodline when the Christ appeared. The Bible said a lot about David who was anointed king of a "United" Israelite Kingdom. David was a glorified Hebrew hero. It was he that killed the Phillistine giant, with a sling-shot. He gained popularity among the Hebrew people and after his predecessor, King Saul was killed, Hebrew Judge, Samual, anointed David, King. David made his Capitol Jerusalem where his son Solomon constructed the Hebrew Temple. That being said, for all his heroic deeds and "Beloved by God," David was in reality, a very flawed human, unlike Christ. His relationship with Bathsheba, another man's wife, who he sent to be killed in combat. And there were other "sins" that David, and as the Bible says, lost the Favor of God.


Originally, the story of King David was confined to the Holy Bible and David had about as much real historical basis as King Arthur. Then, a few years ago, a record, independent of the Bible emerged. A trade transaction listed a connection from one source to another "from the House of David." This is the one source of scholarship that suggests the figure of David was more than what gets taught in Sunday school.


In any event, the United Kingdom of Israel did not survive. The last Hebrew Monarch of was Solomon who might have been known for his Wisdom but when his son. Rehoboam took the Throne, the Ten Northern Tribes took a hike, becoming the new Kingdom of Israel. A few centuries later the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians and the southern kingdom, namely Judah and Samaria. were conquered by Babylon and its inhabitants were sent into exile.


Today, an Israel whose territory is almost the same confines of the old Hebrew United Kingdom, is once again at war. This time, it is not Assyrians or Babylonians but a force just as pernicious. On October 7th of last year, the terror group Hamas from bases in the Gaza Strip, launched a coordinated strike against targets in Southern Israel, killing some 1,700 civilians and also taking several hundred hostages. In response, Israel has begun an all-arms campaign that moved into Gaza and have been systemically dis-mantling the Hamas network. The next step for the Israeli Defense Force is the population concentration of Rafah, in the southern part of Gaza.


The Israeli-Hamas war is having consequences outside the immediate theater of operations. In the United States, there is concern for Biden's re-election because support for the Jewish State could alienate Muslim voters in Minnesota or Michigan. In the Senate, Majority Leader Schumer. himself Jewish, is looking to replace Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, because of his determined prosecution of the war.


David was a warrior King and Netanyahu is the modern analog. Whatever the political realties of Biden of Schumer might be, the Israeli Prime Minister is committed to Hamas degradation and that necessarily includes an assault on Rafah. Any would be humanitarian concerns, as well as any continued discussion of a "Two State" Solution, died on October 7th, along with 1,700 Israelis.

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